Foo - Amuse me!

Okay, so it's Saturday night, I've been at work since 10 AM (other than lunch and dinner), and I'm still at work. I guess I don't have to be here, but I want to enjoy my ride tomorrow without a certain proposal (that I'm working on now) hanging over my head. Or worse yet, causing me to not ride. I got word of this task yesterday afternoon, to be done alongside all the work I'd otherwise be doing anyway. I'm not even sure what the urgency is, but my professor has bugged me four times about it already, so it's evidently very urgent to him. I've done all the major legwork for the proposal already, but putting it together and getting all the details fleshed out will take some work.

So help me stay amused. Tell me a funny story, tell me how your day went, whatever. As long as it's moderately amusing (or better yet, very amusing). I just want to go home, sleep, and enjoy a nice ride tomorrow. But I can't enjoy my ride tomorrow if I don't get through this proposal tonight.

How to amuse a cabbage. Hmm...

I killed a canadian goose with a soccer ball today-by accident.

This will keep you amused for hours. (http://www.gnomepunt.com/index.php)

or at least seconds

scarpi41, oh no, poor goose!


This will keep you amused for hours. (http://www.gnomepunt.com/index.php)

or at least seconds

I hate that game! There's no rhyme or reason to one's score. Just random luck depending on where the mushrooms happen to be. :(

I killed a canadian goose with a soccer ball today-by accident.
Go out there again tomorow. Those things are a nationally protected plague.

Last week I was rumaging through the recycling can in the copy room and found an ad for greeting cards. There was a free sample in the envelope. A lady was using the copy machine and I asked her can you use a birthday card? She said, "Oh! Yes! It's my husband's birthday tomorrow and I haven't had time to get him a card."

^^^At least the lady wasn't late in getting the card! :lol:

I don't even know what this proposal is for. :(

my day was ok. this morning i went to check out my bike to get it ready to be taken to dallas later for a new chainring, a tune up, and replacement rear shock bolts. I went in the backyard and discovered my long lost basketball in the big bushes!:)! I went to BF as usuall then left. I went to t3h bikestore then and did the stuff. these little kids were goin insane in the store riding the kiddybikes, while knocking other bikes down. Haha when i told the dude i needed a 40t chainring with a 104 bcd he was like " wow most people your age wouldnt known what that meant." I was thinkin thx to BF:) Then i passed my school in north dallas and saw they had an art fest goin on. so my mom wanted to go so i went. omg there was this freaky looking old gypsy lady with black hair with all this jewlry who kept wanting my mom to buy and try on her stuff. i was like back off bish lol. Nothing there was good so i later went to starbucks and got a venti java chip frapachino. the lady saw my lacrosse shirt on and i got stuck talkin to her about it lol. afterwards i went to office depot by my house and got some new pens cause i lose my pens like every week. I wanted to get a laser pointer but i was out of money:(. I also got 300 sheets of wide ruled paper since my english teacher will make us rewrite an essay like last week after my test cause i used college ruled:mad: anywho my mom and i went to the gas station and i got myself a 16oz low carb monster while i told my mom to get some lotto texas lotto cards. We got 5 bucks worth of it. (omg i need to check it now! its 69 million!!) haha 69 thats a funny number lol;p. then we went to cotton patch cafe and i got myself a doublemeat double cheese burger! up front where i payed there was a pretty fine looking girl too:)..i got in the car and realized i left my togo box inside (with the other half of the cheeseburger) but right when i remembered that the server came out lol and brought it to me :o Theeen i went to blockbuster and got "into the west" episodes 3-6, which i am watching the 4th one right now and its REALLY good. When i got home i took some pics of stuff outside and went inside back on BF:D Then i wanted to ride my crap 4300 to the lake since its nighttime and cool out. but the cable connecting to the front mech was about to split inhalf since the seperate wires are splitting away. i almost cut my hand....so i had to adjust it which took about 12 min. since it was my first time. so i went to the lake, heard some coyote, and went home. then i came up to mah room, got on the comp and started to watch tha movie. now 3 hours later here i am. uh oh i gotta go before my parents see im up!

Ok how is this for amusement?

Get your sorry lazy *** off this forum and focus on your presentation so you can get in bed at a decent hour, keep your job and ride tomorrow.

+1
That's amovement!

Ok how is this for amusement?

Get your sorry lazy *** off this forum and focus on your presentation so you can get in bed at a decent hour, keep your job and ride tomorrow.
That's no fun. :( I know, I know, I should just get my work done and go home. This proposal bores me to death. If it were more interesting to me, I would put it off until Monday to let my mind ruminate over the proposal more and come up with something more interesting. As it is, I just want it over with, but need to keep myself amused so that I don't just fall asleep and not care.

For what it's worth, while reading about EJ123's day, I did improve on the proposal quite a bit. (Toward what end I'm not sure, since I still have absolutely no clue why we're working on a proposal for this thing, anyway.)

That's no fun. :( I know, I know, I should just get my work done and go home. This proposal bores me to death. If it were more interesting to me, I would put it off until Monday to let my mind ruminate over the proposal more and come up with something more interesting. As it is, I just want it over with, but need to keep myself amused so that I don't just fall asleep and not care.

For what it's worth, while reading about EJ123's day, I did improve on the proposal quite a bit. (Toward what end I'm not sure, since I still have absolutely no clue why we're working on a proposal for this thing, anyway.)
Good. Your not mad at me. Just looking out for your best interest.

What can I do to help? They say I am an expert on everything, however I sense they really say that tounge and cheek and don't really mean that exactly. :)

What can I do to help? They say I am an expert on everything, however I sense they really say that tounge and cheek and don't really mean that exactly. :)
What do you know about the synthesis of complex bicycles? No, not bicycles in BikeForums. Bicycles as in organic chemistry and two rings? :)

Here's something kind of amusing. I was playing air hockey today with a friend and the game started to get violent. The dang puck kept flying off the table and flying around the room. It even hit a guy playing pool across the room! Then, when the puck was sitting in front of my goal, my friend threw his mallet at it and the puck or mallet or something hit my thumb. It hurt like a biotch. There's dried blood on my thumb now and the nail turned black. I had to start playing with my left hand. Air hockey is a dangerous sport!

Oh, and my internet connection keeps crapping out on me every 5 minutes. I have to go over and fiddle with the cable in the port all the time to get it to work. Ok, hope that was amusing or entertaining.

What do you know about the synthesis of complex bicycles? No, not bicycles in BikeForums. Bicycles as in organic chemistry and two rings? :)
There are still some synthetic chemists who hesitate to use metal-mediated or -catalysed reactions. The Pauson–Khand reaction (PKR) is a powerful transformation that has now been sufficiently well developed to be routinely considered when planning a synthesis, especially of polycyclic complex molecules. This tutorial review aims to encourage the use of this process explaining the best ways of performing a PKR both in the stoichiometric and the catalytic version, showing the scope of the process and its limitations. Additionally, asymmetry can be introduced in the reaction using several strategies, which will be discussed. The most recent examples of the synthetic applications of the PKR in natural product synthesis will give the reader an idea of the great usefulness of this reaction.

This is about all I know on the subject. Sorry if I am no help.

:roflmao: No Pauson-Khand reaction in my proposal tonight, but thanks anyway. :)

I should be done in the next half hour, easily, if I simply don't get bored and step away from my desk. :D

:roflmao: No Pauson-Khand reaction in my proposal tonight, but thanks anyway. :)

I should be done in the next half hour, easily, if I simply don't get bored and step away from my desk. :D
OK Sorry. My expertise is with the middle ring work. But you are working on dual rings (a double in cycling terms I believe). Get some sleep dude. No need sleeping on the bike tomorrow. I have found that not to be a good combination. You must get your priorities in order man. :)

Good luck.

Whats your job?

Organic chemisry (and in particular, total synthesis) graduate student. Sounds fun, huh? ;)


PS: Everything's drafted now. Just need to touch up some details. :)

Yay, I'm done. But feel free to carry on with any amusing stories. :)

Yay, I'm done. But feel free to carry on with any amusing stories. :)
Cool. Now hang up so we can talk about ya. ;) ;)

^^^Just use PM, you silly! Then you can gossip about me all you want without me knowing about it. I'm staying around at work a bit longer now just because my office is nicer than my apartment (working with a famous prof has its perks) and I have a high speed connection here.

Glad you are done!! :beer: I know all too well how tedious these proposals can be and how hard it is to stay focused sometimes...


Anyway, I woke up at 9am today and found that the part of Portland where I live is blacked out :( Not only was the apartment cold but there was not much to do. It was so gloomy outside I couldn't even read :(

Hey, tell us about the proposal, why do it on a Saturday night????

Hey, tell us about the proposal, why do it on a Saturday night????
A recently discovered molecule of biological interest has an unusual structure embedded in it that my professor had never seen before, so he wanted me to do some background research (on Friday) to see whether it was truly unique and what the closest known compounds are. Once that was done, and we decided it truly was unique, he decided he wanted me to find relevant background information on the molecule (the easy part of the task) and to propose a means of synthesizing the molecule (ie making it from readily available chemicals through a sequence of reactions). Why tonight? Because he wants the proposal on Monday, and I sure don't want to be working on it tomorrow. Gotta get started on my presentation for group meeting (on Wednesday) tomorrow.

peregrine, it was awfully cold in my lab in San Diego, too. Our boiler room was down, I guess. Problem is, the AC is always on. The AC's on to control humidity, and then we heat the air to the appropriate temperature. When the heat goes down, temperatures plummet. But I guess I shouldn't complain... it only dropped to 64 degrees in my lab today, unlike the time it dropped to 59 degrees.

... Once that was done, and we decided it truly was unique, he decided he wanted me to find relevant background information on the molecule (the easy part of the task) and to propose a means of synthesizing the molecule (ie making it from readily available chemicals through a sequence of reactions)...

Oh, you mean that kind of proposal?! I thought you were referring to a grant proposal :rolleyes: What you're doing is not so much tedious as it is difficult!!!!

Oh, you mean that kind of proposal?! I thought you were referring to a grant proposal :rolleyes: What you're doing is not so much tedious as it is difficult!!!!
Yes, that kind. Happily, it's not a grant proposal. Happily, this one post-doc in the lab currently seems to get stuck with all of those.

Proposing projects is much more fun than writing grant proposals. But very hard to do well. And it can still be a snooze-fest if it's a project that doesn't really excite you.

I almost always kind of goof off and allow myself to be relatively distracted in the early going. It helps my mind wander and consider a variety of possibilities rather than getting fixated on whatever idea I first stumble across. And we're supposed to (if possible... sometimes it just doesn't work this way) maintain the same amount of productivity as if nothing ever came up. But it takes quite a bit of time, and a lot of it (looking up what's been done before, double checking little things in the proposal, carefully considering similar alternatives) is time-consuming, really mundane, and tiresome.

Go out there again tomorow. Those things are a nationally protected plague.
Well it wasnt on purpose,I was at soccer practice and I was shooting on goal, and there was no net and it just nailed this one. I felt bad for a lil bit.

Oh, you mean that kind of proposal?! I thought you were referring to a grant proposal :rolleyes: What you're doing is not so much tedious as it is difficult!!!!


The benefit of grant proposals is they pay the bills so you stay employed, this kind is just to make work for you, though it can be fun to tell the boss what to do. I hope the one that just went out for us is funded this time or I will be looking for another lab.